13 December 2016

Arrivals and Departures (12/13/16): Post Winter Meeting World

The Orioles saw a flurry of activity last week that at first glance appears to be a shuffling of deck chairs on the U.S.S. Oriole. Delving in a little deeper, there are justifications for each move. A vacuum perspective finds that each of these new additions serve a need at a preferred cost. That said, we do not live in a vacuum and moves in the previous weeks indicate that perhaps if the club was a bit more aggressive than maybe things would look a bit more shiny for 2017. A few months remain to reconstitute this roster and there are players out there available for the taking.

That said, it is difficult not to notice around the AL East and see that each club is making significant additions. The Yankees took on the formidable, but morally conflicting, Aroldis Chapman. Boston decided to deal away near can't miss elite prospects in order to have and hold Chris Sale for three years. The Blue Jays went to town with a Steve Pearce signing. The Rays perhaps signed their greatest catcher ever in Wilson Ramos. All were attached to other sizable moves that have yet to come to fruition.

For the Orioles, the rumor mill has circled the drain with fringe catchers in Nick Hundley and Welington Castillo and slightly splashier names in Michael Saunders and Ian Desmond. That last one died a quick death as the Colorado Rockies signed Desmond to presumably and confusingly play first base. The Orioles came out of the meetings with largely the same questions as they entered. Who catches? Who plays right field? And, perhaps, how does the pen get stronger?

Right field may have been answered with the Rule 5 acquisition of Anuery Tavarez, a 25yo left handed right fielder who had a cup of coffee in AAA last year. He has largely existed outside of the world of prospect consideration, but showed a high contact rate, good speed, fringe power, and dependable defense. Performance wise, he ended the year on a blistering pace while dominating right handed pitching in AA. In an idea world, one could perhaps squint and see him as a dominant side platoon with Joey Rickard in right field. However, be sure to take a breath because his breakout season last year was largely tied to a .381 BABIP.

More confusingly, the Orioles made a second selection in the Rule 5 by taking Cleveland's Anthony Santander. Santander is raw. Santander is not a right fielder. Just 22, Santander has always had imposing power and a troubling injury history. It appeared that he escaped the injury demon this year, but went under the knife to fix a shoulder injury in his throwing arm, which may sideline him into the year and perhaps make him fall under Rule 5 active roster rules in 2018 as well.

Anyway, what once appeared to be a fringe defense right fielder has slid down the defensive spectrum to appear more like a first baseman with a very promising bat. 2016 saw him break out big with .204 ISO and a healthy 20 home run, 290/368/494 line in single A. The basic word from scouts was that they would like to have him in their organization, but where do you keep him on an MLB roster and, especially, a playoff contending roster.

As we move forward, it is difficult to conclude that the club has answered any questions yet. It is also difficult to conclude that the rumored additions the club is planning will make this team better than it was in 2016. As we move into the middle of the offseason, a creeping awareness of the 2019 season is looming larger and larger. The club as is really has not been constructed to be viable after 2018. Contract status, free agent cost, and a dearth of talent in the minors really puts forward the importance of the next two years. Perhaps, that is better left said a little further down the line though.

Below is the current 40 man roster with 37 out of 40 positions filled.

Worley was not offered arbitration and therefore no longer is in the Orioles organization.

The Orioles also have Logan Verrett and Adam Walker on the 40 man. Verrett used an option for 2015, but may not have been in the minors long enough to burn one for 2016 (I think he did). Walker has added to the Twins 40 man roster in 2016 (Nov 2015) and therefore has two options remaining.

The point isn't his cost, but his value. He takes a 40-man spot, he's right handed, and he was horrible last summer. There's no justification for bringing him back when there are surely other better gambles that could be had for the same money. I don't mind gambles, especially inexpensive ones, but this is foolish. Ondrascek has already shown he's not worth a spot, so why bring him back?

As Dan Connolly mentioned yesterday, the Orioles can recoup some money before Opening Day if Ondrusek gets cut. That $650K is not all guaranteed (and the 2018 option is a club option), and I'm not sure why anyone would be worried about a 40-man spot. Plus, he'll have a minor league option for 2017. He might not be that good, but the team wants another look at him, it's a low-risk move, and there's flexibility.

Contact Camden Depot

We look forward to your questions as well as any suggestions you may have for us.

Additionally, we are always looking for new contributors, so if you want to write for the Depot then e-mail us with an example column that you think fits the tone of the site.

Contributors

Jon Shepherd - Founder/Editor@CamdenDepotStarted Camden Depot in the summer of 2007. By day, a toxicologist and by night a baseball analyst. His work is largely located on this site, but may pop up over at places like ESPN or Baseball Prospectus.

Matt Kremnitzer - Assistant Editor@mattkremnitzerMatt joined Camden Depot in early 2013. His work has been featured on ESPN SweetSpot and MASNsports.com.

Patrick Dougherty - Writer@pjd0014Patrick joined Camden Depot in the fall of 2015, following two years writing for Baltimore Sports & Life. He is interested in data analysis and forecasting, and cultivates those skills with analysis aimed at improving the performance of the Orioles (should they ever listen).

Nate Delong - Writer@OriolesPGNate created and wrote for Orioles Proving Ground prior to joining Camden Depot in the middle of 2013. His baseball resume includes working as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions and as a Video Intern for the Baltimore Orioles. His actual resume is much less interesting.

Matt Perez - Writer@FanOfLaundryMatt joined Camden Depot after the 2013 season. He is a data analyst/programmer in his day job and uses those skills to write about the Orioles and other baseball related topics.

Joe Reisel - WriterJoe has followed the Norfolk Tides now for 20 seasons. He currently serves as a Tides GameDay datacaster for milb.com and as a scorer for Baseball Info Solutions (BIS). He is computer programmer/analyst by day.

Joe Wantz - WriterJoe is a baseball and Orioles fanatic. In his spare time, he got his PhD in political science and works in data and analytics in Washington DC.